Glossary · Farming

Biodynamic Farming

A holistic farming philosophy pre-dating organic certification that treats the farm as a self-contained ecosystem; includes specific seasonal practices and certification via Demeter.

Biodynamic farming is an older, more philosophical sibling to organic. Developed by Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s, it treats the farm as a closed, self-sustaining ecosystem and prescribes specific practices tied to cosmic cycles (planting by the moon, for instance) in addition to organic-adjacent restrictions on synthetic inputs.

Certification is through Demeter, an international body older than USDA Organic. Practically, certified biodynamic is rarer than organic; you see it most often in wine, olive oil, and some specialty produce.

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